1. Field
The present invention relates to a spark arrester and a dust collector for use with same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In many dust collector systems, a spark arrestor is employed in the ductwork upstream of a dust collector to prevent combustible materials, such as sparks, from entering into the dust collector and damaging the air filters mounted in the dust collector. Common applications for spark arrestors include dust collectors for use in welding, plasma cutting, laser cutting, metal reclaiming and processing, and other spark producing operations.
FIG. 1 illustrates a partial cut away elevation of a conventional dust collector 100 coupled in series with a conventional spark arrestor 102. The dust collector 100 includes a housing 104 that is coupled to an air mover 106, such as a fan or blower, for drawing air, as shown by arrows 138, from a work place 132 through at least one replaceable air filter 108 mounted in the housing 104. The air mover 106 may be mounted to or be remote from the housing 104. The housing 104 is constructed from a rigid material suitable to withstand the operational pressures and loading for which the particular dust collector is designed. The housing 104 includes an inlet 110, an outlet 112. The housing 104 is supported by legs 114 and includes a tube sheet 116 which separates the interior of the housing 104 into a dirty air plenum 118 and a clean air plenum 120. The dirty air plenum 118 is in communication with the inlet 110 of the housing 104 while the clean air plenum 120 is in communication with the outlet 112 of the housing 104. The one or more air filters 108 are sealingly mounted to the tube sheet 116 such that air passing through a filter aperture 122 formed through the tube sheet 116 from the dirty air plenum 118 to the clean air plenum 120 must first pass through at least one air filter 108.
Not shown in FIG. 1, the dust collector 100 may optionally include a filter cleaning system which is operable to remove at least a portion of the dust cake formed on the air filter 108 during operation. The filter cleaning system may vibrate, shock or utilized air jets to knock at least a portion of the dust cake formed on the air filter into a collection hopper 124 formed in the lower portion of the housing 104. The collection hopper 124 includes a door 126 which may be periodically opened to remove the dust or other filtered materials from the dust collector 100.
The conventional spark arrestor 102 is generally located in ductwork 128 upstream of and well spaced-apart from the inlet 110 of the dust collector 100 between an inlet 130 of the ductwork 128 (i.e., positioned proximate the workplace 132 where the sparks are generated) and the dust collector 100. The conventional spark arrestor 102 includes a spark collection hopper 134 and a door 136 which may be periodically opened to remove extinguished sparks from the conventional spark arrestor 102.
In operation, particulates and sparks 140, generated at the workplace 132 are entrained in the air 138 that enters ductwork 128 at the inlet 130. The air 138 flows through the ductwork 128 and enters the conventional spark arrestor 102. The conventional spark arrestor 102 may be a baffle box or other device configured to arrest sparks. The baffle box, as shown in FIG. 1, has a baffle plate which separates sparks 140 from the air passing through the spark arrestor 102. Separated sparks 140 are dropped into the spark collection hopper 134. The air 138 exiting the conventional spark arrestor 102 continues through the ductwork 128 and into the dust collector 100 through the inlet 110.
The conventional spark arrestor 102 is generally isolated from the dust collector 100 and requires cleaning and maintenance, such as emptying the spark collection hopper 134, in addition to the cleaning and maintenance already required for the dust collector 100 itself. This makes the conventional spark arrestor 102 difficult and time consuming to maintain, particularly if the ductwork containing the spark arrestor is not easily accessible.
Therefore, there is a need for an apparatus for removing sparks entrained in an air flow prior to filtering.